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A great ride

Retiring edtitor of The Lutheran traveled further than his dreams

Through it all a distinctive vision of God, the church and the magazine deepened. "My experience is of the church corporately — in congregations, synods, churchwide, internationally and ecumenically," he says. "That's where I have found the Spirit, the awe, the truth of Scripture revealed.

"If you haven't seen the whole church, you haven't seen the church. We truncate our understanding of God's grace if we don't see the whole. Congregations don't understand themselves until they see themselves in light of the broader church. The magazine's task is to bind the church together."

Trexler frequently speaks of the "ministry of journalism." The disciplines of journalism — accuracy, reporting, critiquing — help the church see itself and its mission, he says, adding, "When the news is bad, tell the truth and trust the people."